Friday's college roundup

Duke’s Paolini tied for third
TEMPE, ARIZ. — Senior Brinson Paolini fired a 3-under 67 Friday to lead Duke to an even-par 280 in the second round of the NCAA Tempe Regional at ASU Karsten Golf Course (par 70, 7,036 yards).
The Blue Devils are tied for fifth after 36 holes of play with a two-under 558. The top five teams after today’s final round advance to the NCAA Championship in Alpharetta, Ga. (May 28-June 2).
Top-seed UCLA posted a 7-under 273 in the second round and now holds the 36-hole lead with a 19-under 541. Central Florida posted the top round of the day with an 8-under 272 to move into second place with an 8-under 552. Georgia is third at 554, with Texas A&M at 557. Duke and host Arizona State are tied for fifth (-2, 558) followed by North Carolina (+1, 581), New Mexico State (+4, 564), Austin Peay (+4, 564), Arizona (+7, 567), Vanderbilt (+9, 569), Clemson (+14, 574), Kennesaw State (+18, 578) and Lehigh (+36, 596).
Central Florida’s Greg Eason blistered the course for a 7-under 63 Friday and holds the individual lead with a 12-under 128. Teammate Ricardo Gouveia is six shots back with a six-under 134, while Paolini is among a group of five players tied for third at five-under.

Baseball
NCSU 7, DUKE 6 — Carlos Rodon struck out 15 batters, one shy of his career high, as No. 5 N.C. State clawed back from a 4-0 deficit to force extra innings and edge Duke 7-6, clinching the series and staying alive in its hunt for the Atlantic Division crown on Friday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
The Wolfpack (41-13, 18-10 ACC) fell behind 4-0 in the third before rebounding with three runs in the top of the fourth. Duke (26-28, 9-20) extended its lead to 6-3 in the fifth. State chopped its deficit to 6-5 in the sixth and tied the game in the eighth, before plating the game-winning run in the top of the 10th to escape with a 7-6 victory.
Rodon’s 15 strikeouts fell one short of his career high, 16 set this year against Florida Atlantic on March 2. The sophomore took over fourth place on NC State’s career strikeouts leaderboard with 272 through 31 appearances. He also passed Vern Sterry, Terry Harvey and his own 2012 campaign on the single-season strikeouts leaderboard, moving into a tie for third with Cory Mazzoni at 137. Rodon needs 10 to tie the program record for a single season and 114 to equal the career record.

Women’s tennis
FLORIDA 4, DUKE 0 — After impressive short-handed wins in the first and second rounds, the No. 15 Duke women’s tennis team was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament by top-ranked Florida 4-0 in the Round of 16 at the Kahn Outdoor Tennis Center in Urbana, Ill.
The Blue Devils (16-10) dropped the doubles point after being forced to forfeit their match at the No. 3 position and dropping the match at No. 1 doubles. Senior Mary Clayton and junior Hanna Mar lost two early breaks and fell behind, 5-0, against Florida’s 11th-ranked tandem of Lauren Embree and Sophie Oyin before holding serve and winning their lone game of the match. Embree and Oyin sealed the crucial opening point for the Gators with an 8-1 win. With the loss, the duo of Clayton and Mar fall to 5-6 for the season.

Softball
WISCONSIN 3-6, UNC 0-2 — After No. 3 Oregon shut out UNC 3-0 earlier in the day, No. 25 Wisconsin ousted the Tar Heels from NCAA Regional play with a 6-2 win Friday night at Oregon’s Howe Field.
Lori Spingola’s solid pitching in both games and Amber Parrish’s solo shot in game two highlighted UNC’s final day of play. The Tar Heels finish their season 40-21, tallying their sixth 40-win season in the last seven years as they close out their 11th NCAA appearance.

Blazing chosen for tournament
COLORADO SPRINGS, Co. — Duke rising sophomore Lauren Blazing, a former Durham Academy star, and Aileen Johnson have been chosen for the U21 team that will USA Field Hockey Women’s National Championship in Norfolk, Va., on May 23-29.
Stefanie Fee, a 2012 Duke graduate, and rising senior Paula Heimbach will play on the Pennsylvania team, while rising senior Grace Christus will be on the Mid-Atlantic/South Team, Hannah Barreca is a member of the New Jersey Team, 2012 Duke graduate Rhian Jones and rising junior Abby Beltrani will participate on the New England/North Team.

COSIDA Academic All-District III team
DURHAM — Duke senior fencer Anthony Lin and golfer Brinson Paolini were named to the Capital One Academic All-District III Men’s At-Large Team, College Sports Information Directors of America announced Friday.
The Academic All-District III citation is the second for Lin and first for Paolini. Lin, who also appeared on the team as a junior, owns a 3.86 grade point average while double majoring in neuroscience and computer science. Paolini boasts a 3.72 grade point average as a psychology major.
Lin is a native of Portland, Ore., and has been a key member of the Duke fencing team over his four years. A three-time NCAA qualifier, Lin posted a career record of 181-56 as a member of Duke’s saber squad. He served as team captain as a senior, helping the Duke men post a 15-9 overall record and the sabers a 16-8 mark.
Paolini, tabbed No. 22 in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings, has a 71.75 stroke average and has notched four top-five finishes and 10 top-20s.
N.C. Central graduate Olesya Palko was named to the Capital One Academic All-District Women’s At-Large Team.
The Kyiv, Ukraine, native finished her academic career with a bachelor’s of science in biology/pre-med and chemistry minor, while maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade point average throughout her education at NCCU.
During the 2013 tennis season, Palko competed in the No. 1 position for the Lady Eagles with 11-10 overall record, including wins over No. 1 singles players from Charlotte and Radford as the team set a school record of 14 wins.